Discussing the move, Jan-Christopher Horak, director of the UCLA Film & Television Archive, said: "It's of huge significance. For 120 years, film and 35 mm has been the format of choice for theatrical presentations. Now we're seeing the end of that. I'm not shocked that it's happened, but how quickly it has happened."

Paramount has yet to comment on the decision.

Other studios, including 20th Century Fox and Disney, are expected to make the move to digital shortly.

In 2011, 20th Century Fox said that it would stop distributing film "within the next year or two".